On June 30, 2021, people visited the temporary memorial at Surfside, Florida.Officials announced Monday that the last person missing in the Florida building-collapse incident has been identified and accounted for. This was more than 30 days after a 12-story condo on the beachfront collapsed onto itself. The incident left Surfside devastated.Final death toll was 98. Children were also among the victims, one of whom was just one year old. From the scene of the collapse, 97 victims were found. One person was killed in a hospital.Although all the victims reported missing have been found, search teams continue to search the debris for any remains that could be identified by human remains," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stated.Cava stated that the tragedy at Surfside "will be something that lives forever with all of us," during a press conference. Cava stated that although the collapse occurred in a small, tight-knit community, it was "a strong and lasting reminder of how connected we are in all times"A condo building collapsed partially in the early morning of June 24, prompting an extensive search and rescue effort that lasted for several weeks. More than 150 people were still missing at one point. This number was later reduced after officials reached out to people not present at the scene of the collapse and found duplicates on a list that included potential residents.Only a few survivors were pulled from the rubble within the first hours. However, loved ones continued to hope for more survivors. That hope dwindled as the weeks passed.BuzzFeed News previously heard from a Surfside resident that they all wanted to be hopeful for obvious reasons. However, I also believe you need to be realistic. We are already on week two.To aid in the rescue effort, emergency personnel from all over the state and rescue teams from Mexico were sent to the scene of the collapse.Officials warned that this mission was dangerous. First responders had to be careful on top of the huge pile of rubble and avoid it from falling. Sometimes fires broke out, and there was the possibility of severe tropical stormforce winds that could further hinder rescue efforts.Officials demolished the remaining portion of the building two weeks after it collapsed. Cava had previously stated that some of the rubble was holding it up.Officials announced after the third week that they would no longer be participating in a rescue operation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that rescue teams did "all they could" at the time.First responders continued to carry out a recovery mission in an effort to locate the remains of the victims.Cava stated, "At this stage, we have truly exhausted all options in the search-and-rescue mission."The Miami-Dade Police Department will continue to search for human remains and personal belongings that might still be in the debris.Alfredo Ramirez III, Police Director, stated that although we have reached the 98 mark, it does not mean that we are done. "We are still working on the evidence piles, and we will keep going until we feel that we have done all we can."
